The Soho Business Improvement District (BID) Is Trying To Become Even More Of An Economic Waste

I just received a letter that the Soho Business Improvement District is trying to increase their annual budget from $550,000 per year to $900,000 per year. A 65% increase.

For those of you who are un-aware, only $350,000 is actually used for cleaning the streets. And this cost is not competitively bid out to the least expensive vendor. There are even more profits built into that figure.

To make it even more clear: The overhead ratio is 36%….way too high of an administrative cost to run the Soho Business Improvement District.

When we donate to non-profit organizations, community members like looking at the percentage of money that goes to administrators. This is especially important here.

The other $200,000 is 100% administrative waste. Instead of the money being collected from several landlords through a Business Improvement District, and then paying multiple salaries, the money could be used to directly hire supplemental street cleaners vs. through an intermediary collecting $200,000.

I hope the whole community of Soho bans together and prevents this increase from being approved.